Wednesday, January 16, 2008

US revokes visa for former

Tanzania central bank chief

Former BoT´s governor Daudi Ballali

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it had revoked former central Bank of Tanzania (BOT) governor Daudi Ballali's visa to the United States, saying he was no longer a government official after being fired last week.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete sacked Ballali over an irregular 133 billion Tanzania shillings payment made out of BOT's External Payment Arrears account to 22 companies. Kikwete appointed Benno Ndulu to replace him.

"The United States Government has informed the Tanzanian government that it is revoking ... Ballali's visa because he no longer represents Tanzania," the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania said in a statement.

Kikwete also ordered a freeze on payments out of External Payment Arrears until a probe was complete into the dubious payments, made in 2005 using flawed or non-existent records.

It was not clear if Ballali is currently in the United States, but Tanzanian media reported in December that the former governor had gone there for treatment.

"Because of the termination of his service, he no longer represents the government and is no longer eligible for his current non-immigrant visa status," the U.S. statement said.

Fighting graft has been among Kikwete's top priorities since he came to power in late 2005. Last year parliament passed a tougher anti-graft law targeting government procurement among other areas.

Source: Reuters, Wed 16 Jan 2008, 13:37 GMT

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